The Council of Europe has officially recognized the Islamic State’s persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East as genocide.

Christian Today reports that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution entitled “Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq.” The report states that ISIS has “perpetrated acts of genocide and other serious crimes punishable under international law.”

The resolution passed 117 votes to one.

Under international law, genocide is considered the severest crime. The designation of genocide also has actual implications for Christians and other minorities being persecuted by ISIS as it will put pressure on the United Nations Security Council to also issue a genocide resolution which will encourage countries to take action to stop the genocide.Read more...

Donald Trump recently got around to noting a specific verse from his professed “favorite book,” the Bible. Speaking at Liberty University, the candidate gave a fumbling nod to what he called “Two Corinthians 3:17,” the founding verse of the Christian school.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” he gushed.

Given the level of decadence the first-century author of this verse found among the Corinthians─over and against Trump’s own lifestyle─there was some unintended irony in his citation. And it only became acuter when Trump proceeded to comment on the passage: “That’s the whole ballgame…and it’s so representative of what’s taking place.”

By way of background: Saint Paul wrote two letters to the Christian church residing in the Greek city of Corinth. In classical times, Corinth was renowned for its temple to Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, pleasure and so-called love. Temple prostitutes devoted to her worship were a major…

A Christian has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and lives for the renown of Christ. He has submitted to, lives surrendered to, and is sanctified to his God. A Christian comes after Christ and denies himself, takes up his cross daily and follows Christ (Luke 9:23). In this brief write-up, I will elaborate on the question: what is a Christian?

A Christian is a...

1. Holy man.A Christian is positionally holy for he has been united to Christ by faith and because of His new heart, and his new position before God, and His new nature granted by divine favor, he longs to live out in his conduct what he has become in his position. He repents of his sin and trusts in Christ. He is positionally righteous and justified because He is in Christ and he longs to live a holy, set apart, distinct, Christ-filled, Christ-enthralled, Christ-centered, and Christ-pursuing life. He hates sin & loves his God!2. Prayerful man.A true Christian is a pra…

Most Americans think the Tea Party movement was a conservative protest against the Obama administration’s progressive policies. It certainly became that, but it didn’t begin as an outpouring of principled or coherent conservatism—nor was it only a movement of the Right.

In its wrath against Wall Street and crony capitalism, for example, the early Tea Party contained elements of the political Left. More than a complaint over any specific grievance, early Tea Party rallies—hodge-podge affairs featuring tri-cornered hats and, in a few cases, offensive signs—were an expression of deep anger and disillusionment, not with a particular party but with a political establishment perceived to serve special interests, not the American people.

Much of that populist anger was captured and channeled into Republican elec…

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- American pastor Saeed Abedini prayed hours at times to survive years of abuse and unjust imprisonment in Iran for his Christian faith, and described his prayers as a "wonderful time with the Lord" which he enjoyed.

In his first media interview since his release from an Iranian prison was announced Jan. 16, Abedini told FOX News' Greta Van Susteren of the brutal physical and psychological torture he suffered in Iran for three and half years.

The 35-year-old Abedini described three harsh beatings in particular, including a beating by an al Qaeda prisoner that nearly took his life.

"I was beaten within to death kind of," he told Van Susteren in broken English. "God saved me over there." During a botched trial, the judge closed him in a room where guards beat him so badly with their fists that he suffered internal bleeding in his stomach. And at another time, he said, he was beaten on the fa…

Huffington Post has an article titled “If You Could Invent A Religion, What Would It Look Like?” which tells us that apparently “one organization is paying $5,000 for the best suggestion.” I imagine whatever that made up religion that would win first place wouldn’t look like Christianity. It definitely wouldn’t emphasize on the sinfulness of man–it’s too much an affront against man’s desire for self-righteousness.

According to the HuffPo’s article, “The challenge is being run entirely on Facebook and is one of several contests 92Y is hosting in the lead up to its “7 Days of Genius” festival.” I thought it was interesting that the word “Genius” was invoked. What does God think about it?Read more...

The largest pro-family group in the state, Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT), put all their time, energy, and money into defeating the bill of interposition introduced by Representative Mark Pody – a bill that would have interposed against the lawless Obergefell opinion by SCOTUS, Tennessee Watchman reports.

The bill had 22 co-sponsors. FACT stated they planned to bring a lawsuit in court to oppose the Obergefell decision. They stated that if this bill of interposition passed it would ruin what they were planning to accomplish through the lawsuit. The Republican legislators, or more properly stated, the GOP leadership loved what FACT was saying in opposition to the bill and had the bill killed on Wednesday, January 20th, in the Republican-controlled committee before it could ever come before the full legislature.Read more...See also:What happened in Tennessee? A bill to defend marriage killed by Christians and GOP | The Doctrine of the Lesser…

MUSCATINE, Iowa — Whether or not he was aware that it was not the same branch of Presbyterianism he claims to follow, Donald Trump obtained a lesson in humility during a reading at a “gay-affirming” Presbyterian USA congregation on Sunday, followed by a sermon from a woman pastor that included talk on welcoming refugees.

“We talked about humility in church today,” Trump told reporters following the service at First Presbyterian Church of Muscatine (PCUSA), which he visited prior to a campaign rally in the city, just days before the Iowa Caucus. “I don’t know if that was aimed at me. Perhaps.”

The reading was from 1 Corinthians 12, and was delivered by a female member of the congregation.

“I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blow up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are part of,” she stated in speaking on the passage.

Rape Conceived – “the least of these” became very clear to me back in April 2015. I knew I was placed in my mother’s womb not by the desire of any man or woman but only by desire of the God of the universe. My mother was raped by 8 men. No woman wants to be raped to be pregnant, though my mother loved me. Those men weren’t “family planning” and only sought to do evil. Why didn’t God stop those men if He loves us? I don’t have that answer but I do know that God is not evil. He is slow to anger and punishment. We have all done evil in His sight and He hasn’t struck us dead. I don’t know why. But what I do know is that His purpose is greater than our understanding.

I received an email from a Pastor in Colorado that changed my perspective on my life. Here’s what it said:“I think you will find this encouraging. I found, during a study in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 that through the Cross of Jesus, God looks at people totally different than man does. He se…

On January 18th at Liberty University, a Republican candidate referred to a Bible passage in his talk (and was criticized for wrongly citing it—although some scholars would agree that “2 Corinthians” is as acceptable as “Second Corinthians” as far as phraseology goes, but we doubt that Mr. Trump was aware of those nuances), advising that Christianity was under siege. While such remarks stir our passions, more than two centuries earlier, another speaker referred to that same passage with an entire sermon devoted to it. If one wishes a more thorough explication of this passage, one could consult Samuel Miller’s “Sermon on the Anniversary of the Independence of America.” Perhaps even Mr. Trump would benefit from a more detailed acquaintance with this classic sermon.

If one doesn’t believe that earlier American preachers frequently preached politically-ladened material, he is simply not aware of history. In this 1793 memoria…

By James Atticus Bowden - Posted at Deo Vindice:
Donald Trump knows there’s trouble, right here in River City. Trouble with a capital “T” and it rhymes with “P” and it stands for Party. That’s the Republican Party, folks. The Republican Party and its politicians, Establishment, RINOs, Insiders and everyone else who failed to fight against President Barry Soetero, the Democrats, Mainstream Media, Hollywood and Academics hell bent on radically transforming America. Trump captures the outrage, and more importantly, the disgust in those who didn’t do their duty to defend America and our way of life.

Trump’s power and potential rides a wave of passion like every good movement or revolution. Yet, his leadership is more of the Music Man huckster, than Mr. Smith Goes to Washington virtue. Meanwhile, his unmatched outspokenness is such a clear beacon to many, that any criticism of Trump is met with scorn. His followers, “Trumpians”, respond with bitter, personal, vindictive accusations. …

THE CMP VIDEOS REVEAL AS MUCH ABOUT THE CHURCH AS ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOODMany assumed that the release of the Planned Parenthood exposévideos from the Center for Medical Progress would rouse a long-slumbering church at last to raise a sustained, united cry of virtuous outrage to help turn the tide of public opinion against the great evil of our age, abortion.

To be sure, there have beenscatteredaccounts of awakening among Christian leaders and their congregations repenting of decades of culpable silence. But by and large,serious activity hasn't come from pastors and their flocks but, once again, only from seasoned sanctity-of-life advocates already passionately engaged in trying to resuscitate the moral sensibilities of a nation in the midst of upstaging the Nazis.

Just as when Kermit Gosnell's house of horrors went viral there was an initial flutter of shock and outrage, so it is again w…

It makes me so sad to see Evangelicals heaping praise upon Donald Trump and abusing the Bible to do so. “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7) has to be one of the most misused texts of Scripture in our day. Politicians and their supporters use it to tell Christians to look past the commandment-breaking past of their choice for President, as if Jesus taught that doing some benevolent things was sufficient proof of authentic faith.

The Lord Jesus, honoring the structure and content of the ten commandments, placed the command to love the true and living God with all that we are before the command to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). The Savior, unlike many who claim him as Lord during election season, never severs the second table of the law from the first, nor therefore should Christian voters do so as we seek proof of a politician’s claim to be a Christian.

I've been thinking about the values I was taught as a child and the example my mother set before me who passed away from an aggressive form of cancer 21 years ago. I think the lessons she tried to impart were based upon her Christian upbringing, and while she had strayed from the church, she didn't stray too far from Christian morals.

If there is any wisdom mom would want to impart to her granddaughters, great-granddaughters and nieces, it would be to seek the Lord first in your life and then pattern your life after women in the Bible and other authentic Christian women found throughout history.

So, while mom wasn't perfect, (she had a famous Scottish temper), she did find peace, love and forgiveness at the cross of Christ before her death. I still marvel at the change that came over her as her heart softened and her mind was renewed with the Word of God. I also remember how accepting she was when we found out she had advanced cancer that could not be treate…

According to Baptist News Global, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, was a contributor to an online symposium on why conservatives should not support Donald Trump. Other symposium contributors included Glenn Beck, Brent Bozell, Mona Charen, Erick Erickson, William Kristol, Michael Medved, Edwin Meese and Cal Thomas.
The Republican National Committee disinvited the National Review from moderating an upcoming pre-Super Tuesday debate after the conservative magazine carried an online symposium with messages denouncing Donald Trump, including one by a Southern Baptist Convention official.Read more...

1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “ Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5 NASB)
On social media is always surprising to me how often I encounter discussions that supposedly between Christians that reveal that one or more of those involved are clueless about the relationship of the Christian faith and repentance. For instance, on more than one occasion I have been involved in discussions in which the initiators were proclaiming…

Why does it seem that the abortion industry’s grassroots support is slipping at the very moment when its power and resources have reached their zenith? At least part of the reason may be the very nature of the abortion business itself—along with the inevitable fallout that accompanies it. Consider:During the summer and fall of 2015, a series of undercover videos revealed the true nature of the grisly abortion trade. Planned Parenthood, the oldest, largest, and best-organized provider of abortion services and the world’s most profitable non-profit organization scandalized the nation as its brutal, callous, and brazen practices were graphically exposed. Even many supporters of a woman’s “right to choose” were shaken by the spectral horror of baby-parts for sale juxtaposed in the videos with a flippant commercial disregard for the health and safety of women.As a result, though the politically protected international abortion business has gr…

[A provocative guest post by Dennis Prager with his permission and some added cautions at the end]

In every age, people say and believe things that aren’t true but somehow become accepted as “conventional wisdom.”

The statement “I’m not ready to get married” is a current example. Said by more and more Americans between the ages of 21 and 40 (and some who are older than that), it usually qualifies as both meaningless and untrue. And it is one reason a smaller percentage of Americans are marrying than ever before.

So, here’s a truth that young Americans need to hear:

Most people become “ready to get married” when they get married. Throughout history most people got married at a much younger age than people today. They were hardly “ready.” They got married because society and/or their religion expected them to. And then, once married, people tended to rise to the occasion.

The same holds true for becoming a parent. Very few people are “ready” to become a parent. T…

Every Christian knows what “grace” means, but does anybody fully comprehend it? I have studied “grace” in depth in recent weeks 1, but the more I study, the more I realize how little I understand the depths of God’s “manifold”2 (multi-colored) grace. I have long been grieved by witnessing so much destruction and pain springing from a weak, one-dimensional view of “grace,” but I am beginning to see that the true scriptural concept of “grace” itself contains the seeds which bear the potential to end abortion in the church.

It’s not unusual for pastors to focus on grace if they mention abortion. Typically, pastors are painfully aware of the fact that hearts of women 3 in their own congregation are experiencing raw pain because they have aborted their children. Being sensitive to the concerns of such hurting women, pastors focus on bringing healing and restoration to those in the congregation who have committed abortion, so pastors preach a message of “grace, not guilt.” Bu…

By Angela WittmanI've been sitting back watching the political entertainment of those vying for the position of President in 2016 and wondering if or when I should wade in... Well, after seeing Donald Trump's captivation of the evangelical vote and his recent endorsement from Sarah Palin, this just might be a good time for me to once more remind the "religious right" of the qualifications for godly leadership. This is probably going to anger some of the Christian "feminists," so please know in advance that I won't approve your comments or engage in any cat fights.

The text below is taken from a blog post written in 2008 about the nomination of Sarah Palin as a Vice-Presidential candidate, but it is also applicable for all ladies considering a run for political office:

Perhaps the best way to explain what went wrong with Donald Trump’s appearance at Liberty University earlier today is to clarify what wasn’t wrong with it (watch above).

There’s nothing wrong per se with a Christian university hosting a presidential candidate for a speech on their campus. In a university setting—even in a Christian one—a speech need not equal an endorsement. If other candidates are given equal access and if it is clear how such a visit might contribute to robust Christian thinking and conviction, there is no necessary offense in this. In fact, it could be a win.

There’s nothing wrong per se with a Christian university hosting a non-Christian for a speech or a lecture on campus. We should encourage a robust exchange of ideas—even with voices we might otherwise disagree with. And there is no necessary violation of principle to have, for example, an atheist participate in a symposium on the plausibility of belief. In fact, in that setting it would be profou…

The abortion giant claims CMP founder David Daleiden and his team broke laws in several states, as well as federal laws, by secretly taping private conversations and trespassing, using fake identities to gain access to Planned Parenthood facilities. Daleiden conducted a three-year, undercover operation, during which he posed as a fetal-tissue buyer and secretly taped Planned Parenthood executives and abortionists talking about the group's methods of and payments for procuring the bodies of aborted babies for scientific research. CMP began releasing videos from the operation in July.

Until now, Planned Parenthood has left legal action against CMP to others.Read more...

GERMANY (BP) -- The wife of freed pastor Saeed Abedini is expected to meet him in Germany, according to news reports released today (Jan. 19), where his health was being assessed after his release from a three-and-a-half-year imprisonment in Iran.

Naghmeh Abedini was preparing to fly to Germany for a reunion before his return to their Boise, Idaho, home, she said in a Jan. 17 telephone interview on FOX News.

"We are ready to welcome him home. I'm getting ready to fly out to Germany to be able to see him, and the kids are really excited because they are making welcome home signs," she said. "There's a lot of readjustment and a lot of healing that needs to happen. It's time for our family to heal and to move forward."

Abedini was serving an eight-year prison sentence because of his Christian faith.

U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., an evangelical Christian who has worked for Abedini's release, said in an Idaho…

Just as the world is characterized by vastness and variety, so our tongues have such a variety and vastness of sin in them that they are rightly compared to a world globe. Calvin said that “a slender portion of the flesh contains the whole world of iniquity.” It’s a microcosm of the world’s evil.Read more...

Despite the proximity to Planned Parenthood’s selling of baby body parts scandal last year, Clinton has intensified her support for so-called “women’s reproductive rights.”

Established by Sanger nearly 100 years ago, Planned Parenthood is looking to Clinton to keep its legacy going into another century, as its president, Cecile Richards, said last week that “everything Planned Parenthood has believed in and fought for over the past 100 years is on the ballot.” Richards and other abortion activists regard Clinton as their truest advocate and believer to fight for them — considering her to be the embodiment of everything they represent on the November ballot. Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Clinton in …

After being released by the Islamic Republic or Iran along with three other American citizens Saturday in a prisoner swap for seven Iranians, Pastor Saeed Abedni’s wife and Christian leaders have expressed a multitude of feelings concerning the move.

Abedini, who began his flight home Sunday after a stop in Switzerland, along with Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian and former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati — the fourth released citizen Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari also reportedly left —was held in an Iranian prison for three years, often enduring torture for his Christian faith.

He converted to Christianity in Iran before moving to the United States in 2005 and become a citizen in 2010, but was arrested in 2012 while visiting Iran to help build a nonsectarian orphanage. Iranian officials said he was a national security threat because of his faith in Jesus Christ and sentenced him to eight years in jail.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB)As many of you know, I grew up as a Southern Baptist. After God saved me in 1986 I was a Southern Baptist until 2006 when our former church was overtaken by the Purpose Driven paradigm. I was bitter about that for a while. I and many of you found common ground having had our churches ripped away from us and in many cases finding it nearly impossible to find a good Biblical local church remaining in our area after the Seeker-Sensitive tsunamis had moved through devastating what were once good churches, leaving behind man-centered, store fronts for Rick Warren’s brand of man-focused religiosity. However, God is good and through t…

KARAJ, Iran — An American pastor who has been imprisoned in Iran for over three years as part of an eight-year prison sentence has been set free in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran.

“It is confirmed: Saeed is released!” Saeed Abedini’s wife Naghmeh posted on social media this morning.

As previously reported, Abedini, a former Iranian Muslim turned Christian, left Iran in 2005 and moved to the United States with his wife and two children to find religious freedom after facing conflict with authorities for planting house churches in the county. In 2012, he traveled back to Iran to build an orphanage and visit his parents—and was about to return to the states—when he was taken into custody.

(Voice of the Persecuted) As we walk through the pages of 2015, trying to make sense of all the persecution suffering, death, and destruction—our thoughts turned towards the joy, and faith witnessed throughout the year. There were many days consumed with prayer, tears, and at times feelings of helplessness. Helplessness as we looked at the larger picture and magnitude of suffering, we feared for the situation. Fear that we couldn’t help so many. But at these times, we go before the Throne of God.

Recalling 2015, one VOP Advocate shared,

“Many times I’ve asked to be relieved of my position as a voice, and advocate. Why, because I couldn’t witness the suffering without means to help every single victim. Many times I was told, “No, My Grace will see you through”. Prayers were answered, others joined us in the mission of helping the persecuted. Tears were turned into joy and in some instances shame, as I learned that those suffering had the faith of Job.…

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17 AKJV

The photo above was taken shortly after my conversion to Christianity approximately 20 years ago. It's probably one of my favorite photos because it shows the joy I felt in my heart when realizing I didn't need to carry the weight of sin upon my shoulders any longer - I had a Redeemer to lift that wretched weight off of me and He was willing to claim me as His own.

Of course, as a newborn babe in Christ I fell into error and had several heartbreaks over misplaced trust in others, but I always knew the good Lord had my back. So, when others would hurt my feelings or write anonymous letters to my broker (I worked as a Real Estate agent for several years) warning her I was "crazy," I could rejoice because I knew my true Protector would vindicate me.

Even the most cursory examination of the statistics concerning divorce in America reveals figures that are nothing short of staggering. In the 60 years between 1920 and 1980 the divorce rate more than tripled. The United States now has one of the highest divorce rates in the world and at least half of all U.S. marriages will end in divorce (53% as of 2011). About half of those divorces will involve children, for a total over one million children experiencing the divorce or separation of their parents yearly.1

What these figures should tell us is that America has become what one author has called a “Divorce Culture,” and as such we can expect divorce to continue to impact every part of our society, including the church. In light of this situation it is imperative that Reformed churches have a coherent policy regarding divorce that accurately reflects the teaching of Scripture. Today most states have passed legislation that allows…

Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has, in exchange for the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, pledged to repeal the decades-old "Hyde Amendment" that restricts federal funding of abortion (except in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment) as “it’s just hard to justify” because “reproductive rights are a fundamental human right.”

I am picking up a theme in the titles of the bestsellers for Christian women. Beth Moore challenges us to an Audacious love for Jesus, and the one-word title of Priscilla Shirer’s book tells us what kind of prayer-life we need: Fervent. The success of these books says something about what women must be seeking, something more special and beyond the ordinary, something passionate and motivating. And who wouldn’t want a fervent prayer life?

Fervent is the #1 bestselling book for Christian women, having an average 5-star rating with 525 reviews on Amazon. This book is inspired by a popular movie in the Christian subculture called The War Room. Shirer starred in the movie (with Beth Moore). The subtitle of this book and purpose in writing is: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer. In her introduction, she explains:
Because this is war. The fight of your life. A very real enemy has been strategizing…

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Two Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have introduced a bill that would interpose against June’s same-sex “marriage” ruling and defend the state’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as being the union of one man and one woman.

“[I]n Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), five justices of the United States Supreme Court issued a lawless opinion with no basis in American law or history, purporting to overturn natural marriage and find a ‘right’ to same-sex ‘marriage’ in the United States Constitution and the fourteenth amendment,” it reads in part.

In the wake of the New Year’s Eve mass sexual assaults in Cologne, it would be madness to ignore the persistent trend in the Muslim world of physical violence toward women.

Europe has a big problem on its hands. On Sunday, Germany’s justice minister said a series of attacks across the country on New Year’s Eve appear to have been pre-planned. In downtown Cologne, about a thousand men of Arab and North African descent entered a square full of celebrators and proceeded to surround women, robbing and in many cases sexually assaulting them.

The fourteenth letter of the Arabic alphabet ن (nun), equivalent to the letter N, has become a world-renowned symbol for Islamic persecution of Christians. The terrorist group ISIS painted it in bold red letters in front of the homes and businesses of the people they call “Nazarenes.” When it happened in 2014, reports and pictures flooded news and social media showing people fleeing their homes and some being captured and killed. When Christians first saw this symbol being used as a tool for terror, thousands of people marked their social media pages with the Arabic mark making bold statements of solidarity with the persecuted Iraqi and Syrian Christians. And then came the horrifying photos of 21 Egyptian Christians kneeling on the sand ready to be beheaded . . . and other reports continue.
With the rise of ISIS in recent years, the church has been visually reminded of the reality of martyrdom in this world. With current events shedding mor…

There is such a thing as the distortion of the gospel (Galatians 1:6-10). It can be detected.

As long as we insist on defining ourselves based on our physical features, our economic status, our perceived political power or the lack thereof, our relationships with other human beings, or our standard of success in our activities and relationships in life, so that these become the controlling lens through which we interpret Jesus, we will distort his gospel. We might use all the right biblical and theological language to express what we believe in order to support what we are doing. By itself this does not mean we have arrived at an accurate understanding and implementation of the gospel and obedience to it. The Bible teaches us to think of all humans as creatures created in the image of God, male or female, who were originally created with knowledge, righteousness and holiness, and dominion over the other creatures, and yet fell from t…